The Ultimate DIY Landscaping Guide
Hey there homeowner, looking to perform some DIY landscaping of your own? If so, then you’re in the right place, because this is the ultimate DIY landscaping guide.
We're one of the best landscapers Boise has. But even so, if you're landscaping on a budget, it definitely makes sense to DIY where you can. Unless you’re a landscaper though, you probably have no idea where to start.
Well, fret not, because this guide will teach you everything you need to know, from assessing your space to choosing the right plants and lighting for it.
Let’s begin.
Planning The Landscape Design
A beautiful landscape starts with the right design plan. Here are the steps to creating a good design plan for your outdoor space.
Assess your space
Before you go thinking about all the beautiful structures and water features or even the flowers you want, you must first know what your space can accommodate.
Here are the steps to size up your outdoor space:
- Measure your yard’s dimensions
- Observe and note down sunlight patterns and intensity, including which areas are in the shade
- Find out what your soil type is by collecting some samples and sending them to be tested for their pH level as well as what type of soil it actually is.
- Observe the water drainage. Waterlogging can be a serious issue, so make sure that your soil drains well, and if not, you’ll need to consider solutions like raised beds.
Decide on a theme
Now, you’re going to need to decide what theme you want your backyard or garden to have.
Here are the usual popular suspects.
Formal: Formal landscapes are, as the name suggests, gardens that look very formal. They usually consist of geometric shapes, symmetrical patterns, and orderly plantings, and as such are often great for traditional style homes.
Cottage garden: Cottage gardens are kind of like the opposite of formal landscapes, with a variety of flowers, vegetable patches, and edible herbs. Cottage gardens are colorful and lively, and as such will look great in most homes.
Modern: As you can probably guess, modern landscapes are meant to look modern. This is achieved through utilizing clean lines and minimalistic designs with less flowers and more of a focus on hardscapes like decorative rocks and paving stones.
Buttercopy: Buttercopy gardens aim to attract wildlife and support the ecosystem. This is done through supporting pollinators with native plants, water features, and varied plant heights.
Xeriscape: Xeriscapes are water-efficient landscapes that are designed to thrive on minimal water and maintenance by employing drought-tolerant plants. Xeriscapes often save homeowners a good deal on utility bills and help conserve water significantly.
Tools And Materials Needed
Moving on to the equipment and materials you’ll need, there’s actually a very huge variety, but here are the basic ones that you’ll most likely need.
Tools:
- Shovel and spade
- Rake
- Pruner and loppers
- Wheelbarrow (Optional but highly recommended for transporting tools and materials)
- Tape measure and garden stakes
- Hose/Watering can
Materials:
- Plants, seeds, or bulbs depending on your design
- Mulch
- Compost
- Edging materials for paths and flower beds
- Stones or pavers (If needed)
Preparing Your Site
Alright, now you’re ready to get to work. We’ll start by preparing your outdoor area.
Clear the area
You don’t want random debris lying around when you’re done with all your work, so you’ll want to remove these first. This includes stones, old roots, and weeds.
If you don’t have any plants yet, you can skip this step, but if you do, make sure to remove the ones that don’t belong in your design.
Finally, if you intend to install patios or pathways or place furniture, you’ll need the ground to be level in those areas, so use your shovel and rake to level the ground where needed.
Soil Preparation
The next step is getting your soil prepped.
As mentioned above, you should already have gotten your soil tested for the pH level and nutrient content, as well as taken note of how well it drains. This is so that you’ll know whether you need to amend your soil in any way for the plants you’re going to grow.
If amendments are needed, here are some common ones:
- Add compost to enrich the soil
- Add lime to raise the pH level or sulfur to lower it
- Incorporate organic matter for better drainage and to enrich the soil
For poor drainage, if it’s mild, organic matter may be enough. But for more severe cases, consider more effective measures like raised garden beds, french drains and catch basins.
Plant Selection And Planting Techniques
Moving on to plant selection and planting, here’s how to choose the right plants and actually plant them.
Choosing the right plants for your climate
Hardiness Zone: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) uses the average annual minimum winter temperaure to divide the US into zones that each have a unique climate profile.
It’s important to know your USDA Hardiness Zone so that you know which perennials, shrubs, and trees to select to withstand your region’s winter temperatures.
Native plants: Native plants are plants that naturally occur in region, which means that they’ve adapted to the local conditions such as rainfall patterns, climate, soil, and pests.
Since they’re already able to grow in nature without any maintenance, when you use them in your garden, they won’t require much water, pesticides, and just overall maintenance.
As such, it’s a good idea to use native plants as much as possible.
Weather conditions: It’s also important to be aware of the general weather and climate such as rainfall, heat, and humidity and choose plants that will thrive in those conditions.
Planting
Given that every plant is different, it’s not practical for us to be listing all the planting methods and guides for every plant out there.
The good news is, with technology nowadays, answers are just a quick Google search away, and you can even ask the shop you bought the seeds from how to grow and care for that plant.
Adding Hardscapes
While hardscapes tend to be more work, they can still be done on your own, though on a smaller scale.
Paths and Walkways
We have the best paver installers Boise ID has to offer, so rest assured that any paths and walkways built by us will be of the highest quality.
Planning: Planning paths and walkways is pretty straightforward. Just think how you would want to walk through your outdoor area and build the paths and walkways along that.
Choosing materials: Hardscapes should of course fit in with the rest of your home and backyard, so make sure to choose a fitting material. The more popular ones are flagstone, gravel, pavers, and mulch.
Of course, each material varies in durability and ease of installation, so make sure to also take those into consideration.
Installation: To ensure your final product is stable and weed-resistant, here’s how you should perform the installation.
Start by removing the topsoil to a depth of 6-8 inches. Then, lay down landscape fabric and fill 3-4 inches of it up with crushed stone. Finally, add the top material and make sure it’s slightly sloped so as to allow for water drainage.
Water Features
Whatever water feature you choose, it’s a good idea to place it where it will be seen often, such as near a seating area or where it can be seen from a window.
Also ensure that it’s away from trees to prevent debris from falling into the water feature.
Rock Gardens and Retaining Walls
Rock gardens: If you’re facing water drainage issues or just have poor soil, rock gardens are perfect as they don’t require much watering, or maintenance for that matter. It’s as simple as choosing a few different-sized rocks and pairing them with drough-resistant plants.
Retaining walls: When constructing retaining walls, make sure that your foundations is solid and there is drainage behind the wall. It’s also best to hire professionals if your walls are over 4 feet.
Implementing Outdoor Lighting
To determine where best to install the outdoor lighting, take a walk through your outdoor space at night and as you walk, consider where the outdoor lighting needs to be placed for safety or to enhance certain features, or even to create a certain ambiance.
Some great places are pathways, steps, driveways, water features, and trees.
The more commonly used outdoor lighting options:
- Path lights for paths and walkways
- Spotlights for things or places you want to highlight
- Floodlights, which are like bigger spotlights, for illuminating large areas for security or simply to make a space usable
- Deck lights for decks and steps, for both safety and ambiance
- Underwater lights to enhance water features
It’s a good idea to use energy-efficient lights, and after placing them, play around with the positioning and angles to find the best placement to either create the ambiance you desire or to light up a larger area.
Ongoing Maintenance
Once your landscape is fully installed, from here on, you just need to maintain it to keep it healthy and looking pristine.
Remember to mulch and weed regularly to remove the weeds, and perform pest management. This can be done with physical barriers like row covers for vegetables, organic methods like introducing ladybugs, or chemical methods like insecticidal soaps.
Don’t neglect the pruning and trimming too. For most plants, it’s best to prune during the dormant season, though there are exceptions, and remove spent blooms regularly to encourage more flowering.
Lastly, perform the appropriate seasonal clean-ups and maintenance. Each season has different things to look out for and maintenance tasks, so make sure to do your research and check out our seasonal landscape maintenance article.
With that, happy DIYing!
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